Post by shaxper on May 3, 2014 23:20:47 GMT -5
Batman #321
A
From the very first panel of this issue, it's clear that Wein and Levitz had big plans for this story. Wein begins with an elaborate description of the exact whereabouts and history of Police Headquarters, a bold sample of Levitz's plan to map Gotham and make it into more of a real city. The drama unfolds quickly, the art (with Simonson guest penciling again) seems more painstakingly story boarded than usual -- every shadow and angle seems carefully considered, and even the creative team credits seem bigger and prouder than usual.
Indeed, I truly and honestly loved this issue. Wein took last issue off to start planning this one, and it shows. He finally masters a balance between the gritty reality of the stories he wants to write and the campy flamboyance of the stories Levitz wants him to write. Every aspect of the Joker and his plan are absurd and ridiculous, but Batman's reactions are sincere and very real. One of the reasons I've been excited to read these older issues is because I know so little about Batman prior to the 1980s (beyond the generalizations and major turning points with which we're all familiar). I'd honestly thought Alan Moore's The Killing Joke was the first Joker story to seriously explore the intimate relationship between Batman and Joker (heck, it's pretty much all that I respected about that severely overrated story), but Wein accomplishes the same feat with far more nuance here. Even a little aside Batman makes as pursuing the Joker ("He never makes it easy") just feels so authentic, as if the two were a married couple who had been bickering for years. Their climactic struggle was tremendously entertaining as a result, with Batman dead serious and completely sick of the Joker's antics while the Joker appeared to be having the time of his life irritating him.
The minor plot holes aside, the only thing that bugged me about this issue was how Simonson drew Joker's face. As I've said earlier, the compositions of the panels were stunning, but Joker never looked right, and his facial features kept changing throughout the issue. Of all comic book characters, Joker has arguably one of the most distinctive faces. You can play with it to a certain degree, but Simonson deviates too wildly and inconsistently. It just doesn't look like Joker, even when he's making all the right movements and gestures in just the right way.
Still, this was one heck of an issue. Here's hoping Wein has another six in him...
A
From the very first panel of this issue, it's clear that Wein and Levitz had big plans for this story. Wein begins with an elaborate description of the exact whereabouts and history of Police Headquarters, a bold sample of Levitz's plan to map Gotham and make it into more of a real city. The drama unfolds quickly, the art (with Simonson guest penciling again) seems more painstakingly story boarded than usual -- every shadow and angle seems carefully considered, and even the creative team credits seem bigger and prouder than usual.
Indeed, I truly and honestly loved this issue. Wein took last issue off to start planning this one, and it shows. He finally masters a balance between the gritty reality of the stories he wants to write and the campy flamboyance of the stories Levitz wants him to write. Every aspect of the Joker and his plan are absurd and ridiculous, but Batman's reactions are sincere and very real. One of the reasons I've been excited to read these older issues is because I know so little about Batman prior to the 1980s (beyond the generalizations and major turning points with which we're all familiar). I'd honestly thought Alan Moore's The Killing Joke was the first Joker story to seriously explore the intimate relationship between Batman and Joker (heck, it's pretty much all that I respected about that severely overrated story), but Wein accomplishes the same feat with far more nuance here. Even a little aside Batman makes as pursuing the Joker ("He never makes it easy") just feels so authentic, as if the two were a married couple who had been bickering for years. Their climactic struggle was tremendously entertaining as a result, with Batman dead serious and completely sick of the Joker's antics while the Joker appeared to be having the time of his life irritating him.
The minor plot holes aside, the only thing that bugged me about this issue was how Simonson drew Joker's face. As I've said earlier, the compositions of the panels were stunning, but Joker never looked right, and his facial features kept changing throughout the issue. Of all comic book characters, Joker has arguably one of the most distinctive faces. You can play with it to a certain degree, but Simonson deviates too wildly and inconsistently. It just doesn't look like Joker, even when he's making all the right movements and gestures in just the right way.
Still, this was one heck of an issue. Here's hoping Wein has another six in him...